This is popular traditional Vietnamese dish, thịt nuong, is one tasty grilled pork! NOM NOM NOM

And, since it’s finally warmer out- throwing these on a grill gets those perfect charred marks and a more smoky flavor. When my parents wanted an easy dinner this was often served with just rice and a side of my parents fish dipping sauce, Nuoc Mam Cham (see recipe for dip below).

*Fun fact- even though I’m Vietnamese American, I can’t speak Vietnamese but I can understand it almost fluently. Part of my food journey is not only to document all my parents recipes, but also learn how to properly pronounce these dishes and learn a little background on the dishes.

Today I’m making Vietnamese stir fried noodles with beef aka Pho Xao in Vietnamese. This is a super delicious & popular dish made with tender cuts of flank steak beef and flavorful rice noodles.

This entire dish comes together in just 30 minutes. My parents like to cook the meat separate so that the meat doesn’t get overcooked and it retains all that juicy meat sauce! A couple key ingredients that really make this dish familiar for me is the Vietnamese soy sauce, Golden Mountain (its the bottle with green cap), Huy Fong Siracha (the iconic and the only Siracha you should be using), and Red Boat Fish Sauce.

Authentic traditional style Vietnamese Pho- this family recipe is so comforting because it uses oxtails to create a rich and luxurious stock. My dad loved using oxtails in his pho if it he could find it. Adding oxtails in addition to beef leg bones makes the broth really deep in color (a vibrant hazelnut color instead of a more transparent or clear broth) and it intensifies that beef-y broth factor!

#vegansushi! Last night we tried something totally new and vegan. Julian was my little sous-chef, aka, our little vegan in the house was craving some sushi so we thought it would be silly to film us being us in our kitchen!

Salt and pepper crab (cua ran muoi) is one of the most visually appealing and popular dishes in Vietnam. It’s like finger licking good- the crab is first deep fried in a light flour batter then tossed with roasted salt and pepper, jalepenos and green scallions.

Every year in during the first week of August we would take a trip to Carthage, MO for Marian Days which is a big pilgrimage & festival for tens of thousands Vietnamese American Roman Catholics. There would be dozens and dozens of tents from all over the US with food vendors and they would serve the BEST Vietnamese foods. One of the favorites for us kids were banh mi sandwiches.

A warm crispy baguette is filled with meat (usually pork), pate, cilantro, pickled carrots and daikon, jalepenos, and lightly slathered in mayo with a few dashes of Maggi! My favorite was always the BBQ pork (Xa Xiu).

Sauerkraut is super easy to make and it’s only two ingredients, cabbage and salt! I added garlic and siracha just to add a little asian kick but this recipe is perfect just plain!

Vietnamese red roasted bbq pork. Known as Xa Xiu in Vietnamese or Char Siu in Cantonese, these are traditionally used in Banh Mi sandwiches and egg noodle dishes. I love them with a sticky and charred outside as if they were smoked on a bbq grill. MMMM nom nom nom

This taro soup is a homestyle comfort food that dad used to cook all the time at home when we were kids. Typically at our dinner table there was almost always a soup to accompany our meat/fish dish. This soup was always one of my favorites because of the soft, sweet, and unique taste and texture of the taro potatoes.

These crispy air fried Vietnamese fish sauce chicken wings are savory and finger licking good! Nom Nom Nom…

If anyone knows me, I hate soggy wings, rather I like my wings crispy and dipped into a sauce. I adapted my parents recipe to be a more of a dry oil rub served with a fish dipping sauce. Typically the dry rub is just dry ingredients, then it’s tossed in a honey/fish sauce glaze but today I’m cutting the sweetness and opting for something a little saltier and savory.

So I did something!  I combined two of my favorite things, a Banh Mi sandwich and a hamburger mashed into one!

This Banh Mi inspired burger is oozing with a homemade Maggi cilantro mayo/aoili, a Maggi seasoned beef patty, fresh jalapeños, cilantro, cucumbers, and pickled daikon & carrots sandwiched between a hot, buttered brioche bun!

How anti-Asian sentiment has exploded, but the East has made some of your favorite things.

It would be impossible for us to claim we’re all about good living, love, or being the best you can be, and then go silent when uncomfortable things and injustices take place. This past year has become an inflection point for so many things. Political upheaval, social injustice, healthcare, our economy, and all of this just scratches the surface.